Ways To Raise The Bar

Players Like A Challenge, And A Few Adjustments To The Course Might Help Keep Them Coming

June 25, 2006|By MATT EAGAN and TOM YANTZ; Courant Staff Writers

For all the bonuses and extras handed out to PGA Tour players, nothing keeps them coming back to an event more than a good, challenging golf course.

``A good ball-striking course, where you need to hit every club in your bag,'' two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen said. ``To me, that's what I'd like to see.''

The TPC at River Highlands might never be confused with Colonial or Riviera, but, for a stadium course, there is plenty to like.

The pros are almost universal in their love for the par-4 15th hole and its high risk-reward quotient. And the finishing holes are strong enough to generate suspense on a Sunday afternoon.

But the TPC at River Highlands is the third-shortest course (6,820 yards) on the PGA Tour, where 300-yard drives are common, so it's time to give it a new coat of paint. Although the holes pictured are as they exist with actual par and yardage, we're using the unlimited budget of our imaginations to offer these suggestions for ways to improve the TPC at River Highlands:

1 Par : 4 Yards : 434 Handicap : 13. A straight-ahead hole, where the landing area for drives is in a valley. An undulating green has a ridge running through its middle. Changes : Add a bunker on the left side of the fairway 290-310 yards from the tee. The slope of the fairway would have to be shaved to allow players to see the new bunker from the tee.

2 Par : 4 Yards : 341 Handicap : 17. With the wind at your back, the temptation may be to try to reach the green with a drive. But trees on the left and a well-bunkered tiny green make the usual route a drive and wedge. Changes : Move the tee straight back 15 yards. This would leave a drive of about 265 yards to the top of the hill but still a wedge to the green. Not every hole needs to be 440 yards.

3 Par : 4 Yards : 431 Handicap : 5. This wide-open hole is the only one with no greenside traps. It's one of the original holes of the former Edgewood Golf Club. Changes : Move the tee back and to the left about 20 yards. the back left portion of the green has been raised. Add a greenside bunker along the left. As it is, players simply blast the ball around the trap on the corner and take dead aim at a flat and defenseless green. A new tee would make this play as a true dogleg and creating undulations on the green would punish those who bail out to the right.

4 Par : 4 Yards : 460 Handicap : 1. The third-hardest hole in last year's Buick Championship (4.158 average) is a dogleg right, featuring a severely sloped green from back to front. Changes : We would be inclined to let the hole stand, but changes are already planned. The tee will be moved back about 20 yards, which will bring bunkers on the right into play. A bunker should be added on the left (280-300 yards from the tee) to showcase the hole and force players to flirt with the right side.

5 Par : 3 Yards : 223 Handicap : 11. Five bunkers protect the green. Players try to keep the tee shot below the hole on the sloped surface. Changes : Move the tee back 30 yards. remove the bunker to the far left of the green. the added length would surpass the 252-yard fourth hole at colonial and make this the longest par 3 on tour. as for the bunker, it doesn't come into play and mars the aesthetics. the extra distance won't be unfair because there is a bailout area left of the green.

6 Par: 5 Yards: 574 Handicap: 3. With 143 birdies, this was the easiest hole in last year's Buick Championship (4.765). The dogleg right is the lone par 5 on the front. Changes: Add a fairway bunker on the left side (290-310 yards from the tee) and transplant adult trees to the left side of the fairway to make it resemble the right side. despite the no. 3 handicap, this has been an easy touch for the pros. our changes won't change that, but at least a player will be required to strike a long, straight tee shot in order to reach the green in two.

7 Par: 4 Yards: 443 Handicap: 9. Another original Edgewood GC hole has a wide fairway and a two-tier green. Changes: Move the tee back 10 yards. add a second fairway bunker on the left side (290-310 yards from the tee.) this is a deceptively simple hole but players simply knock the ball over the traps. another bunker gives them something to think about.

8 Par: 3 Yards: 202 Handicap: 7. The difficulty of this hole, guarded by a pond, is represented by 49 birdies, 80 bogeys and five double bogeys in last year's tournament. Changes: Move the tee back 20 to 25 yards and shave the bank in front of the green to bring the water into play. those changes would make the hole play the way it was originally designed.

9 Par: 4 Yards: 406 Handicap: 15. Severe dogleg right was the fifth easiest hole last year (3.896). Changes: None. The hole is wedged into the course and there is no room to expand it. That said, it's a well- designed hole for its length and offers a good change of pace at the turn.